Incredible Rare Northern Lights Captured Over Iceland [PHOTO]
Astrophotographer Jeff Dai captured a vibrant strip of pulsating light in the night sky over Iceland. This extremely rare phenomenon is known as the curls of the Northern Lights. According to the photographer, it lasted for several minutes, as reported by Livescience.
Polar lights occur when high-energy particles from the Sun interact with the Earth's magnetic field, stimulating the emission of bright light from gas molecules in the upper layers of the atmosphere. Typically, the Northern Lights move across the night sky, forming no specific shape or pattern. From Earth, it appears as a uniform glow in the night sky, gradually changing in intensity.
The curls of the Northern Lights represent a rare variation of this phenomenon. They are caused by massive disturbances in the magnetosphere, such as low-frequency waves. These magnetic curls are most often triggered by bursts of solar radiation, known as solar wind, when its intensity significantly increases or decreases at certain moments.
Usually, low-frequency waves are detected only by scientific instruments aimed at the Earth's upper atmospheric layers. However, in this case, the pulsations allowed solar radiation to penetrate the magnetosphere and create a unique form of aurora.
It's worth noting that the Sun is currently on the verge of its approximately 11-year solar activity peak, known as the solar maximum. During this time, solar storms become more frequent and powerful, and our star produces more intense bursts of solar wind.
Previously, The Gaze reported that the Hubble Space Telescope captured a mesmerizing image of a galactic bridge stretching 250,000 light-years between two galaxies in the Arp 295 group. The stellar bridge formed due to gravitational interaction between two closely located galaxies composed of stars and interstellar gas.
Galactic bridges form when galaxies approach each other or during their initial formation nearby, causing gravitational interaction that initiates mutual attraction of stars and matter. Such cosmic formations are called interacting galaxies. This process unfolds over billions of years and can ultimately lead to their merger.